Recently there's a lot of debates about the transparency and credibility of PSD. So, I'm not going to talk about that issue but rather discuss on the quality of SPM and what is the value of STPM.
Each year the Minister of Education will announce good news on how students improve in almost all the subjects. We all know how the scoring system works. And each year, we will read in the paper how students breaking records by scoring strings of As. I'm not sure if this is only happening in our country. Probably in the coming years, we will have a top SPM scorer achieving 20As. It's not impossible, really.
Although STPM is known as one of the toughest examination in the world, I really believe that it's losing it's value in our very own country. We emphasize too much on SPM and life after that which is going to college or doing matriculation. In the end, STPM is like the last choice.
It is the time for the Ministry of Education to uphold the standard of STPM. Instead of focusing on SPM students and its problems each year, PSD should emphasize on STPM high achievers by increasing their chances of getting scholarships. PSD should make it necessary for their scholars to have a better foundation through STPM before sending them off to overseas. STPM students are more mature thinkers and have better understanding of their dream career. An extra 2 years of studies do make a lot of difference in a person character. After all, PSD is not only looking for high achiever but someone who's a well-rounder with good personality.
